Worcester officials spar over school funding

WORCESTER 
City Manager Michael V. O'Brien is recommending an additional $528,527 go to the public schools, but that does not mean the city will exceed the minimum state spending requirement.

The city will still fall $417,123 short of the state minimum, according to a memo Superintendent Melinda J. Boone sent to the School Committee today.

In fiscal 2012, which ended in June, the city fell $1,500,195 short of the amount the state requires it to spend on the city school system. That amount was carried forward to the current fiscal year to be funded.

As things stand, the city is $945,650 short. With the $528,527 Mr. O'Brien is proposing, the city will still be $417,123 short.

“Although I am extremely grateful to the city manager for providing these funds … I am disappointed, because the city administration did not verify these numbers with either the (state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education) or my administration, and the amount in the report to the City Council is simply inaccurate,” Ms. Boone wrote in her memo.

In an email tonight, Mr. O'Brien pointed out that the state formula looks only at the bottom line, not how efficiently those dollars are used.

City changes such as healthcare reforms have helped more of those dollars go to education itself instead of employee benefits. And, he added, schools are just one segment of the city budget crying for attention.

“Trust me, our desire to increase WPS funding is ever-present, as is the desire to fund a new class of recruits to restore manpower levels at the WPD and WFD, the need to restore key services cut from DPW, and the list goes on and on.

“I would like nothing more than to say yes to everyone. Unfortunately, that is not my job. For, in the end, we have to make sure we can pay our bills, live within our means, remain stable as a community and grow.”

The City Council is scheduled to set the tax rate tomorrow night.

The $528,527 that Mr. O'Brien is recommending the city give the school district is the amount the district would have lost from its budget as a result of final charter school tuition assessments and reimbursements in the state budget, which was finalized after the School Committee approved its budget. Mr. O'Brien's recommendation would let the schools keep their budget intact.

“These funds will certainly be a significant benefit to the Worcester Public Schools for this year,” Ms. Boone wrote.

Statewide, cities and towns spent an average of 16 percent more than they were required on their schools, but lower-income municipalities tend to spend little more than required, according to a 2011 report from the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center.